


Fair to Wait

by Rainbruh



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Eventual Smut, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Loss of Virginity, Older Man/Younger Woman, Rey Needs A Hug, Slow Burn, Soulmate AU, bond, idk where this will go??, lots of office refrences, pink wig thick ass give em whiplash, soulmates show up in dreams
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:28:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23290978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainbruh/pseuds/Rainbruh
Summary: After moving out of the LA foster system, 16 year old Rey couldn't be happier to move in with her bookstore owner boss, Maz who was the mother she never had. When Maz gets sick, Rey has to learn how to deal with managing the store, school, her new fear of finding her soulmate, and the new dreams she's started to have. (Or rather, nightmares)
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Finn/Rose Tico, Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	1. ok

**Author's Note:**

> Wow uh long break I haven't been able to write at all and I decided to scrap my first work, sorry :(. Maybe someday i'll rewrite it. I remember back in december I was getting ready for a Q & A Adam driver was doing in my city and I found my old fic and I was lowkey mortified and wanted to rewrite it then and there but my laptop broke :(. But also seeing adam for real was life changing 0_0 I hope everyone is doing well with the quarantine and I hope everyone is staying healthy. I also just want to take a moment to remember one of my favourite artists, @haloren1st. Hal was an amazing person and addition to our fandom and I know she's flying high. May the force be with you Hal <3

"Rey, I promise I'm going to be fine don't worry." 

I could hear the weakness in Maz's voice, and it was crushing. She's the only thing I have in this world and I can't lose her. Things had finally been going so well for me but, I guess I'm just not supposed to be happy. Living with Maz was the closest thing to a normal life I've ever had, and now I don't know what to do. It had only been a couple weeks since she had been able to gain custody of me and living with her has been great. Honestly I'm just more worried about her. The doctor said that he doesn't know what's going to happen so I want to make the most of the time I do have with her. 

"I'm not worried, I know. Just please call me as much as you can, and I'll come visit you after school." 

Getting another lecture about doing my homework isn't how I wanted to end our conversation, but I know its just because she cares. I maybe even like it. She cares more than anyone has. We say goodbye and just before I put my phone down, Finn texts me. He asks me how I'm doing and it's one of the few times where i open up to him and explain how fucked I really am.  
We agree to meet him at our favourite coffee place, Jitters. I take the bus and try to ignore my growing worry, but i know talking to Finn always helps.


	2. press start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's 3:27 am and I still need to write a three page script for theatre cuz our play got canceled :) ngl theatre had made me hate people I used to love like they are MONSTERS when they get their limelight but whatcha gonna do ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯? hope everyone's staying safe and healthy!

I see him waiting for me at the bus stop, headphones covering his ears. He makes a face and snatches his phone out of his pocket, probably changing his song. Probably something he's heard 23 million times. The bus finally halts and I go to get up but the whole world flickers and I almost fall smack on the concrete but I catch my breath just as I stumble onto the curb. I've had that happen before, but it's been getting more frequent. I worry sometimes. Not that I'm anemic, just because of that old wive's tale I heard when I used to live in my second group home. I remember this girl who always had buns in her hair, I think her name was Kaydel? She told me about how people used to dream about their future husband or wife and they'd just show up and ruin their lives. She would always say how it happened to her aunt, and how she apparently disappeared after she met her "soulmate" as she called it. I know it's all bullshit but she's not the only person I've heard it from. Looking up symptoms and stuff didn't help either, everything I found wasn't concrete but apparently fainting and the dreams are the most common side effects. I made the mistake of asking Maz a couple of months ago and I had never had her yell at me before, so I dropped it altogether. None of it makes sense though, its like a crazed fucking conspiracy, that I know I shouldn't believe in but what’s the harm? Throughout all the online “experiences'' I've found, it only affects like 2% of the population, but I have a feeling that number is much larger. 

“What’s with the face Grumpy?”

“I could say the same for you dickface. You looked like someone shat in your ears.”

I almost forget all my troubles when I’m with him. Finn is one of those people who will call it as he sees it, but at the same time he is completely oblivious to himself. It’s endearing but sometimes it's unbearable. I love him anyway, no one could ask for a better friend. Recently he’s been a little different and I know this because he has a crush on our friend Rose. She moved here from Ohio two years ago with her sister and mom. She’s the best and is like the sister I’ve never had. I think Finn has always had something for her, but she’s just as oblivious as he is. 

“You don’t know what it’s like to be interrupted by an ad when your five songs into an album. It’s an actual hate crime. But hey, how are you holding up, and how’s Maz?”

For a split second, I don’t know what to say or do. I remember everything like a brick to the head. I remember opening the door and just the smell of smoke and the absent sound of a heartbeat. I feel an arm wrap around me and Finn pulls me into a deep hug right in the door frame of the cafe. Nothing better could’ve helped. He’s just perfect like that. I know I’m probably crying but don’t realize it. Stupid how the body makes decisions for you. He apologizes in my ear, but he knows far well by now he doesn’t need to. None of it is his fault.   
We step into the shop and it’s crowded like any other cafe in this city, the usual hipsters on their macs, chatty high schoolers, and adults who always look burnt out. 

“Sooo….Did you want to invite Rose?”  
“Yeah, yeah of course.”

I toss him a secret little smile, but just like he does, he stares back confused and shrugs. While the phone rings, our coffee comes and I finally have a chance to try to work everything out,

“I don’t know what I’m going to do about the shop, but I think my best bet is to hire someone or just close it but I don’t know how I’m gonna be able to pay the rent for it then.”

Maz told me she’d take care of it but I need to do this for her. She doesn’t need added stress, she just needs to focus on getting better.   
Rose picks up just as Finn opens his mouth. He throws me a sorry look and tells Rose to come over. They giggle when they hang up and I can’t help but sigh.

“Rey, please don’t worry. Look, Rose and I had this idea, that maybe, we can help you run the store. Just till you can come up with a solid plan and we’re happy to help, not just you but Maz too.”

It sounds like a perfect idea but no, I don’t want to push my problems onto my friends, I’m not a charity. 

“Finn I appreciate you and Rose but I’m fine okay? I can figure this out on my own and you guys don’t need to take on anything you two have enough going on with each other and with finals coming up-”

He cuts me off by giving me a look. Its that look that he gives me when I’m being stupid. When he says that I’m doing “it” again.

“Rey, stop. I know how you are and how you think being helped makes you weak-”

“I didn’t say that-”

“But you have got to take a break before you hurt yourself. Rose and I will help you run the shop, no if’s and’s or but’s, so you have to deal with it. You deserve to be happy and things will smooth over soon. Stress isn’t good for you especially at this age, and don’t think I didn’t see you almost faint. You have to remember to take care of yourself Rey, not just everyone around you, and before you tell me, Maz is going to be fine, I promise. Okay?”

All I can do is nod. I know I need to take heed of what he’s saying. He rambles on again and I think he knows he’s said enough, but I needed to hear it. I’m going to get another wakeup call and no matter how many times Finn lectures me, I also know I'll never change.

“Now, on a lighter note, how do you know about us?!”

I can’t help but burst out laughing because of how genuinely surprised he sounds. Rose walks right in on his disbelief.

“I can’t believe she knows about us! Did you tell her?”

Rose laughs and shrugs all suspiciously and Finn fills her in. Their conversation becomes white noise as I people-watch in the low light. A guy with dreads past his shorts looks unimpressed as he taps away on his phone. A woman with punk yellow earrings the size of her hand sips her coffee and winces from what I assume to be the heat. She looks up and around nervously out of embarrassment and we have a mutual moment when she sees me looking. My eyes dart away to the far corner near the parking lot. I can’t exactly make out who the person is but I see them tip over a salt shaker and balance it on its corner. It takes three tries. Usually it takes me four. I see the person look up and realize it’s a man. He keeps staring from across the room and I see his eyes. They’re like two lit candles in a cave. I can’t help but be glued to them. I think I hear someone calling my name but it sounds a hundred miles away. The salt shaker falls and I hear the voice catch up.

“Has the spaceship landed yet?” 

We all chuckle and work out how to divide managing the store. We agree after a solid thirty minutes of me continuously trying to take on more hours but them refusing. A hearty handshake seals the deal and we plan breakfast for tomorrow. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The house is kind of scary alone. No smells of constant cooking, no gentle radio playing. It’s haunting. I’m sixteen and still afraid of the dark. How pathetic. I rush to my phone to play some show just for something to look at rather than leaving my brain to make faces in the dark for me.  
I try focussing on the words as I flip on every light. Maz and I live above the bookstore which is a pain if you hate the sound of traffic all night but we like it. Its calming and the sounds of the city never get stale. The day’s fatigue finally sets in and my eyes hurt. Everything hurts. I can't even cry I’m that tired. Its been two days since Maz has been in the hospital but I don’t want to think about that anymore. I just want to focus on our happy future. My bed is cold when I get in, making me shiver. I know when I don’t stop shivering something is wrong. 

I look around and I’m in the cafe again. It's so cold I can’t even breathe. Gasp after gasp does nothing to help. I’m choking. I try to scream out for Maz. Then Finn. No sound. I’m on the floor and I can see the amber of the low light lamps above. Fear consumes me when I realize it's going to be my last sight. I lie and writhe for eternity, a fish ready for gutting. A shockwave of sound hits me and I’m still. The sound of thick glass clunking on a table. A saltshaker, I don’t know how, but I know it is. I’m so focused on the sound I don’t remember I need to breathe. Eyes still fixed to the overhead lamps, I just float. Waiting. The sound continues to resonate until it becomes deep waves of bass I can feel in my soul. It’s so loud, like a heartbeat. My heartbeat. It’s in my ears and they’re burning. But I’m breathing now. The air gushing around me, it wraps around me like arms. Warm summer wind. The lamps start to change like a kaleidoscope, I see them. The eyes. Those eyes. The two fires keeping me warm giving me air. They move towards me and I feel my face touch another. My lips brush the light and the eyes disappear in a chronic supernova. It feels so right. It’s everything I should always feel.


	3. no plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've fully become nocturnal, but the sunrise is so pretty. the birds all sing when it rises too and they go back to sleep lol. time to sleep from 8am to 6pm now :)

That signature 30 seconds of waking bliss are addictive, but nothing is keeping me at bay from thinking about the day’s worries. I get to visit Maz today which I’m both dreading and looking forward to. My alarm clock has a couple of minutes before it rings. Funny how the body does that. It just knows sometimes. I’d better get ready for breakfast with the two lovebirds before they leave without me. Hopefully, they can come with me to the hospital, I really don't want to be alone when I leave. It hurts to think about leaving Maz alone but I know she wants me to be strong, and I need to hold down the fort for her so things can go back to normal as soon as she’s home. A harsh bzz interrupts my mindless toothbrushing and it's a text from Finn. 

‘hey, we still on for breakfast in twenty? Rose has a surprise for you ;)’

I don’t know whether to be scared or excited, but I’m curious either way. I shoot him a thumbs up and throw on some boots and leggings. Just as I go to lock the store for the day, I notice our orchids on the checkout desk, staring at me. They may just be flowers, but I’ve never seen a flower actually express that much emotion. I grab the spritzer and mist each bloom. I’ve heard flowers listen when you talk to them so I say a quick little goodbye and go on my way. I think they look a little happier. It’s cloudy today, which is strange but it’s nice. Not many clouds around here. 

I turn the corner and I see Rose and Finn in the window of the diner, holding hands across the table. I take a moment to photograph them there. Just immortalizing that sweet little moment. They really are perfect for each other. I slide my phone back in my pocket and the light turns green. As I’m crossing I look a little closer and I see someone sitting next to Finn. I can’t see who he is but I hope he doesn’t have anything to do with Rose’s surprise. Rushing up to grab the door was a stupid decision, because not only do I nearly miss slamming my face in the door, I make painful eye contact with one of the most popular guys at school.

“Rey, you’re finally here! C’mon over!” 

Rose’s voice has a tinge more pep than usual and I follow her to the table. 

“So I'm sure you've met Poe before, right?”

Her little secret smile says it all and I don’t know whether to get up and leave or just sit in burning embarrassment.

“Yeah, I’ve seen you around, nice to meet you, I’m Rey.”

“Nice to finally meet you too.”

He extends his hand for a shake and I freeze for a second. I remember last night's dream and the guy from the cafe. His eyes. Chills wash over me, and I finally comprehend his outstretched hand. I shake it and another wave of chills hits me. He looks at me and I think I’m gonna be sick. What the fuck is going on?

“Woah, Rey are you ok?” 

Poe grabs me by the shoulders and I start to see black spots. I feel the world tilt and my hearing cuts out. Shit, not again.

It feels like I was just electrocuted. As fast as it happened, it ended and my senses rushed back to me. Everyone is standing around me, but Poe who’s a couple of inches from my face. I shrug away and slide further into the booth. Finn gives me that look from yesterday as I reassure everyone I’m fine. I thank Poe for catching me and try to pretend nothing happened. Thankfully he picks up and Rose follows. Finn still has that look though. I throw him an empathetic smile and he gives me a sad face. Brunch continues uneventfully and Poe seems to be pretty cool. Surprising, because I thought he’d be everything I hate in a person, but we kind of have a lot in common. Too much. I know Rose is behind all this but I need a distraction, so I appreciate it. I figure I’ll just go to the hospital alone, there’s no way I could’ve asked them to come with me, but it’s ok. 

“It was really great meeting you Rey, I hope we can hang out more soon.”

He goes to hug me and I feel it again. The faintness. I hurry and lean in, trying to keep my cool and he finally pulls away. I wave to them as they walk away from the diner and dial Maz’s doctor. He says she’s in stable condition but she needs to rest. I tell him it's important but he says he doesn’t have time to argue and hangs up mid-sentence. What a dick. I feel ready to throw up and I don’t have the strength to go all the way to the hospital, so I might as well open the shop for a little. 

The bus is ten minutes late and I'm on the verge of crying, screaming and passing out. Finn’s judging look burns in my mind and I try my hardest not to think about why I keep fainting. I just need to relax that’s all. But it keeps lingering. I need to know why this is happening because it can’t be that soulmate bs, I'm probably just anemic. The bus stops for a couple of minutes to help a woman in a wheelchair. Today really isn’t my day. I look around at all the people on the bus but my eyes stick to the back of a tall dark-haired man. He’s holding onto the top railing which I find odd. He’s standing right in front of an open seat. He goes to check his watch and I get a glimpse of his profile. He looks so familiar, like someone I’ve known for a while. His hand falls to his side and he turns to me. Then he looks me in the eye, and I realize exactly who he is. The guy from the cafe. I keep staring and so does he, but I don’t feel embarrassed or awkward at all. If anything, I feel calmer and calmer with each second. The bus dings and announces my stop. I walk down the steps, almost missing one because we just keep looking. At the last second I hop off the bus and see the stranger get off through the other door. The bus pulls off, leaving us in a cloud of diesel fumes. I cough a couple of times and that breaks our contact. I see him shrug a little and walk my direction. I get a little nervous but he has such a calming presence, it's almost supernatural. He keeps walking and just as he passes me, I tap on his sleeve. He turns around in a bit of surprise but he doesn’t look mad. He has such a stoic stance, I don’t know where I got the strength to tap him yet even stare at him. 

“I saw you yesterday at the cafe, right? You’re pretty good at balancing salt shakers.” 

I see him smile and something in my world changes in that small second. Something beyond me.


End file.
